Love of Prophet Mohammad in Light of the Koran and Prophetic Traditions
Moulana Mohiddun Qadri from Islamabad asks:
'Please explain what love of Prophet Mohammad is.'
'Can anyone become a lover of Prophet Mohammad just by raising slogans of Prophet Mohammad's name?'
No, this is not the case.
The way I speak is very straightforward.
To speak simply is a mark of a Sufi.
A man came to Prophet Mohammad. Prophet Mohammad asked him, 'Why have you come?'
He said, 'O' Prophet Mohammad, I want to love God.'
Prophet Mohammad replied, 'Then embrace calamity and trouble for they are attached to God's love.'
Another man came to Prophet Mohammad.
He said, 'O' Prophet Mohammad, I want to love you.'
So Prophet Mohammad said, 'Adopt the teachings of Faqr (Spiritual Poverty), for my love is attached with Faqr.'
Now, however people talk about Prophet Mohammad's love,
they do it in accordance with their own understanding.
I believe that the correct method of loving Prophet Mohammad is that explained by Prophet Mohammad himself.
The method explained by the Koran.
Because we should under no circumstances say this.
There are two categories of love for Prophet Mohammad.
One is to love Prophet Mohammad in his personal capacity.
And the second category of love of Prophet Mohammad is to love him as a transition to obtain God’s love.
Just as a Prophetic Tradition states, 'You will not become a True Believer until you love me more than your parents and everybody else.'
'Not a single one of you can become a True Believer until you love me (Prophet Mohammad) more than your parents...'
'...more than your own life and more than the entire humanity.'
So a condition one must fulfil in order to become a True Believer is to love Prophet Mohammad.
On the one hand, it is a condition.
'Not a single one of you can become a True Believer until you love me (Prophet Mohammad) more than your parents...'
'...more than the entire humanity and more than your own life.'
So on the path towards becoming a True Believer,
even without intending to, you will have to develop love of Prophet Mohammad.
Even if loving Prophet Mohammad is not your goal,
loving Prophet Mohammad is the medium through which you will obtain God's love and faith. It is how you will become a True Believer.
Now have a look at what the Koran says.
Firstly, you need to understand what Sharia (the sacred law) is.
There are four parts to Sharia.
Just as I have previously mentioned that there are four parts to Tariqa, similarly, there are four parts to Sharia as well:
Koran, Sunnah (Customs of Prophet Mohammad) and then Ijma.
What is it? Ijma.
So the third part is Ijma.
Which is scholarly consensus.
Consensus of the scholars: Ijma.
And the fourth part is Qiyas.
The fourth part is Qiyas.
Which is the analogy of the sacred law.
These are the four parts.
Now the Koran is the very first thing that will elaborate on Sharia.
The Koran. And what does the Koran say?
The Koran 3:31 says, 'Tell them: follow me and as a result, God will love you.'
'Tell these people who love God to follow you (Prophet Mohammad).'
It is one thing to do as I say.
Say it with me: do as I say.
To do as I say is Ita'at.
And to do as I do is Itteba.
To do as I say is Ita'at.
And to do as I do - this is Itteba.
Yes.
Now, here in Koran 3:31, what does it say? 'Do as I do (Itteba).'
Now how do you translate 'Itteba' into English? It is a strange word that I personally don't like [in this context].
Personally, I don't like this word.
However, all the Islamic scholars, Orientalists, transliterators, etc.
they have all used this one English word as a translation of the word Itteba: to imitate.
This is what they wrote. What can I do about it?
I have chosen a very simple word as a translation of Itteba in my mind.
Instead of saying, 'Imitate me,'
[translate it as] 'Follow me.'
Yes.
Have you understood what I said?
Now, there are four parts to Sharia. The first part is the Koran. What does the Koran say?
'Follow me and as a result, God will love you.'
So the first part of Sharia, the Koran, says, 'Follow [Prophet Mohammad] and as a result, God will love you.'
The second part of Sharia is Sunnah (Customs of Prophet Mohammad).
'You cannot become a True Believer until you love me more than anyone.'
Right?
Ijma [is the third part of Sharia].
[Per Ijma], to obey Prophet Mohammad is to obey God.
Qiyas.
What does Qiyas say?
Love of Prophet Mohammad is a sign of faith.
All four parts of Sharia indicate that you should love Prophet Mohammad.
'If my Salat is not led by my love for you [Prophet Mohammad], then my ovation and prostrations are nothing.'
'And it was your Merciful Glance that gave both my ovations and prostrations meaning...' - poetry by Allama Iqbal
'You are the sacred tablet and the pen; your being is the [Holy] Book.'
'This blue dome [that is Earth] is but a bubble in the sea that you are.' - Allama Iqbal
Now how will you obtain love of Prophet Mohammad?
His Divine Eminence Gohar Shahi says, 'People only tell you about the medicine, but they don't give it to you.'
Doesn't everybody say, 'Love God, love Prophet Mohammad'?
Well how will it happen? Explain that too!
Many people say, 'Adopt the Sunnah (Customs of Prophet Mohammad).'
'Make yourself look like Prophet Mohammad.'
How will this develop love of Prophet Mohammad in your heart?
Then they say, '[Follow the] Sunnah.'
To that we say, God said in the Koran:
Koran 57:3 'God is the Alpha and Omega. He is in the esoteric realm and the exoteric realm.'
God is the Alpha and Omega. He is in the interior and the exterior.
Now, if God is in the interior and exterior, then Prophet Mohammad must be as well.
If God is in the interior and exterior, then Prophet Mohammad must also be in the esoteric and exoteric realm.
When you are supposed to follow Prophet Mohammad (Itteba), why was it said that you must obey him (Ita'at)?
And if you are obeying Prophet Mohammad, why was it said that you must follow him?
What you do physically in the exterior world [in relation to Prophet Mohammad is Ita'at (to obey him).
Itteba is to emulate Prophet Mohammad esoterically.
Ita'at is to emulate Prophet Mohammad physically. Itteba is to emulate him esoterically.
Do you understand?
Similarly, there are the physical Sunnah (Customs of Prophet Mohammad) and there are the Sunnah carried out by his inner being.
There are physical Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad. What are they?
For example, just as Prophet Mohammad kept a beard, you too keep a beard. This is a physical Sunnah.
Whatever act Prophet Mohammad carried out physically with his body, if you do it physically too, then you have adopted a physical Sunnah.
But what are the esoteric Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad?
What scholar will teach us it?
For example, God said to Prophet Mohammad in the Koran 94:7:
'O' Prophet Mohammad, when you are free from your duties of prophethood...'
He would spend all day in propagation of God's oneness and Islam.
He would keep telling the Kuffar (disbelievers) of Mecca about it.
He would be busy all day in his duties as prophet.
When the day had passed with him busy in his duties and it was evening time -
- by evening time when he was free from his responsibilities as prophet,
then [God said here], 'Turn all your attention towards your Lord.' In other words, he gave the knowledge of Spiritual Journey..
Now, if you were to sit quietly, would you be following the Sunnah of Spiritual Journey?
Now the Spiritual Journey that is taking place -
'- turn all your attention towards your Lord.'
With me so far?
So during Spiritual Journey if he directs all his attention [to God], then what is the Sunnah here?
Will you be following this Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad if you just close your eyes and sit quietly?
Or [must you also have the same] inner activity [to follow this] Sunnah?
What is the inner activity here?
Prophet Mohammad's souls would leave his body and go to God.
Right?
So you will need to adopt the esoteric Sunnah of Prophet Mohammad.
What is Prophet Mohammad's esoteric worship?
They worship of the exterior was Salat.
Prophet Mohammad's esoteric worship is Faqr (Spiritual Poverty).
Prophet Mohammad's esoteric worship is Faqr (Spiritual Poverty). What is Faqr?
Faqr is to eradicate everything for except God from your heart and being.
When everything besides God is eradicated from your heart and body,
and your heart and being are filled with divine energy - from head to toe -
then this is Faqr.
Right?
Now, how will this Faqr be obtained?
When you will obtain spiritual association with Prophet Mohammad,
your heart will be connected to Prophet Mohammad's heart.
From Prophet Mohammad's heart, you will receive the spiritual benevolence of Faqr.
The souls in your chest will be attached to the souls in Prophet Mohammad's chest.
This attachment is known as love of Prophet Mohammad.
This is the very reason Prophet Mohammad said, 'True scholars are attached to my chest.'
True scholars are those who will be connected to Prophet Mohammad's chest.
'True scholars are attached to my chest.'
A true scholar is one who has the knowledge of the hear (spiritual knowledge).
Prophet Mohammad said, 'Beware of the ignorant scholar.'
The Companions were perplexed. They asked, 'How can one be a scholar and ignorant at the same time?'
Prophet Mohammad said, 'He is a scholar by tongue only...'
'And his heart is ignorant, meaning dark.'
So in order to obtain Prophet Mohammad's love, you will need to adopt the teachings of Faqr.
Without it, it is not possible to obtain Prophet Mohammad's love.
If you think that love of Prophet Mohammad constitutes wearing a religious turban, keeping a beard or using a Maswad,
then this is a huge misunderstanding on your part.
To keep a beard, wear a turban and apply perfume - these are just minor Sunnah.
This is not love of Prophet Mohammad.
When one loves Prophet Mohammad, his soul - and the spirits in his chest - are connected to Prophet Mohammad's chest.
Addressing the True Believers, the Koran says:
'O' True Believers, Prophet Mohammad is closer to you than you are to yourselves.'
The Koran says that the grandeur of True Believers lies in the fact that Prophet Mohammad is closer to them than they are to themselves.
Well, this is what love is:
A person does not know himself and Prophet Mohammad is closer to him than he is to himself.
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